After a rowdy attempt to create bonds between the NADUR and Eurasian soldiers, the two captains of the two ships decide to head to their next target, Amsterdam, a major city in the path to Antwerp. Amsterdam was once a prosperous city before being absorbed into the NADUR, engaged in the European Challenge and soon later, the occurrence of the Awakening.

  "Status:R, prepare for Harbinger combat, send out the Aegis and FOBPA's, send the Challengers upon reaching target destination."

  "Load the missile chambers with Thermites and Plowders, all crew members to combat positions. Prepare the main beam cannons.", the Deputy Chief added to the captain's orders.

  "Suzina Rinmann, do well out there!", said Mr. Franks.

  "Yes, sir!"

  "Aegis in position, ready for launch, transferring launch controls to pilot."

  "ZZ-01 Aegis, Suzina Rinmann, launch!"

  Meanwhile on the Zabytaya...

  "Combat Level: Red! All crew to combat positions, send out the DMP's and Volks. Launch the Laniakea, keep track of that harbinger.", as ordered filled the ship's bridge.

  It was clear that the two forces were all ready to fight whatever was still in Amsterdam. The only question to remain was whether or not both sides could execute it properly.

  "Harbinger sighted!", signaled throughout both ships.

  "Fire at will!", came the order as both ships shot the Harbinger with everything they had.

  However, it was like the enemy before, fast and agile. Seeing the opportunity and being granted permission, Suzina charged the foxlike opponent with her new Aegis II - same mech just repaired with added specs. While she could land a few hits every so often, it was clear that her vehicle lacked in the speed and agility category.

  Then, Suzina signaled to her partner aboard the Laniakea, Andrei, to take the opportunity to fire once she had put it into position. And so, she tried to keep the enemy in one place, and she managed to get out of sight from the enemy. As the Harbinger tried to scan for her vehicle, it caught a heat signature from behind as Rinmann had somehow managed to slip past the enemy and catch it perfectly.

  Now, all that needed to happen was for Andrei to pull the trigger on that Harbinger. Yet, the soldiers with their eyes glued to the screens saw nothing.

  Suzina was stunned, the Harbinger was still standing, a chance for victory had slipped away. But she refused to think he missed on purpose.

  "Andrei, let's try that again, we almost got it!"

  And with the NADUR forces grouping up to corner the Harbinger, once again, they managed to bring it into a position that was absolutely in the crosshair of the Laniakea's sniper rifle, but once again, no one opened fire.

  Back in the bridge, everyone is stunned.

  "Contact the Zabytaya now!"

  "Communications established, captain."

  "Yelena, why are your men not cooperating with us?"

  "I was about to ask the same question Captain Eleanor."

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  She was surprised; they couldn't be the ones not cooperating. So did the officers nearby think as they gripped their controls.

  "We already have a solid battle plan; we need you to follow it, Eleanor."

  "And what plan is that, Yelena? Charge men straight into the enemy? What mindset is that?"

  "It is the mindset to end this battle as quick as possible."

  Eleanor thought for a moment, she couldn't afford to waste more men.

  "Yelena, we refuse to follow your battle plan."

  Eurasian and NADUR forces in the bridge gripped their fists, waiting for a Yelena, until...

  "Well, if that's your final decision. Then our forces might as well fight separately."

  Then, the communications were cut.

  "Eurasia is no longer an ally.", was broadcasted to the NADUR forces who stopped, looking twice to see if they had misread.

  In this moment, Suzina thought to herself, "What..?"

  Due to the confusion, formations broke apart and Challengers and Volks alike were starting to get picked of one by one.

  Then, the Harbinger started plowing through the streets after catching sight of the Aegis, seeking to take it out of the equation.

  Challengers stood no chance in stopping it, as well as the FOBPA beam cannons.

  Suddenly, Suzina felt she knew what the enemy would do, her senses warning her of a danger before she even saw it.

  Her body controlled the Aegis before she could process the situation.

  Sparks flew as the mecha somehow merely dodged the rushing Harbinger.

  Her instinct shouted at her to stab the monster that was directly in front of him.

  In a split second, the blade tore through the Harbinger's armor sending shrapnel flying towards the sky.

  The Hunter-type Harbinger was down, but the core-type was nowhere to be found.

  That was until there was a flash, then from the sky above came a beam of light like a drop of golden sun which made contact with the tanks down below, melting their metal armor until it was a pool of ash.

  "James, watch out!", Luna warned.

  "Thanks there Luna, looks like the big fish finally is here. Time to catch it!"

  "Calm down, James! That is not like the last Harbingers, that is a core-type!"

  Then the broadcast appeared.

  "Change targets to the core-type Harbinger. Fire at will!", ordered Eleanor.

  As the soldiers below looked up, the smoke cleared and they saw their enemy still afloat, still glowering down to them, still alive.

  "Suzina, engage the enemy, our forces with support you."

  "Yes, Ma'am!"

  The Aegis, now with a composed pilot, rose to the sky level to the enemy. She looked at the orb-like enemy with rings orbiting it and wondered, "What can this thing do?". All she knew at this point was that it was resistant to beam cannons.

  She could not wait any longer as the battle turned into a staring competition.

  Suzina thrusted her blade towards the enemy.

  As the rapier came close to the enemy however, it simply deflected right.

  It seemed that neither beam weaponry nor physical blades could penetrate whatever was protecting the core.

  However, it was too late by then and the Harbinger decided it was not its turn.

  When Suzina turned her vehicle around, she saw the ring of this Harbinger seemed to collapse. They broke loose but remained afloat. These pieces then seemed to individually move to orbit around the core facing towards the Aegis.

  "Rinmann, get out of there now!", Eleanor ordered through communication lines.

  But it was too late, too late for anyone to have realized that this was a new weapon that only the Core-types had the power to use. 12 individually moving beam weapon modules each with the power of a FOBPA's beam cannon.

  By the time Suzina heard the warning, the modules had locked on.

  There was a bright flash, then a storm of beams that left a glowing trail hit the Aegis whose rather damaged armor stood no chance against.

  This new Harbinger managed to bring down the Aegis so easily. But it was now the Eurasians' turn to fight. You see, they see a NADUR struggling to fight an enemy, but they do not see that this enemy was too strong for either of them.

  "All forces, target the Core-type!", commanded Captain Yelena.

  The ground lit up as beam lasers and plasma waves shot up into the air. However, the Drone array seemed to change formation, forming a blue holographic shield around the Harbinger. When the beams collided, nothing happened.

  "Laniakea, take the shot!"

  "Yes, Ma'am."

  As the massive vehicle aimed at the enemy, there was a flash, then an intense beam laser headed straight for the opponent appeared. This wasn't just a normal beam weapon. The Laniakea's sniper rifle was the pinnacle of beam rifle technology. So, you can imagine the look on their face when the smoke cleared and that monster was still there.

  "Retreat." was the order given by both captains to their respective ships. while the enemy did not bother to chase and the Aegis was successfully retrieved with Rinmann, it shows just how powerful their new enemy is.